Congressional report clears ACORN of wrongdoing — after group forced to disband
Congressional report clears ACORN of wrongdoing after group forced to disband
When a duo of right-wing provocateurs posing as a pimp and prostitute released selectively-edited videos trying to impugn the community activist group ACORN, both Democrats and Republicans condemned the organization.
Congress then voted to cut off federal funding for the group (a decision that was later ruled unconstitutional). Following negative press and Congress' vote, ACORN effectively disbanded Apr. 1 and reorganized under new names.
But a just-issued report by the Government Accountability Office that reviewed ACORN's federal funding at the behest of Congress found little grist for the mill for politicians or right-wing bloggers looking to bash the now-defunct advocacy group for the poor.
The 38-page report surveyed over 31 federal agencies, probing how ACORN used federal funds and whether adequate controls on spending existed.
The report found no evidence of fraud, lax oversight or misuse of federal funds.
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In fact, the report discovered that ACORN had adequately accounted for spending $40 million worth of major and minor grants awarded by the federal government to the group since 2005 to combat a variety of problems afflicting poor Americans, including lead poisoning, housing discrimination and lack of adequate job training.
The preliminary report on the group’s funding also found that of the grants that warranted audits no irregularities in spending were found. Smaller grantees said that oversight was adequate as well.
Of eight major grants awarded ACORN by the federal government the report found fault with one, a grant by Neighbor Works.
“Neighbor Works determined that ACORN Housing Corporation had not provided a description of what it planned to accomplish under the grant, as required. After Neighbor Works brought this to the attention of ACORN Housing Corporation officials, these officials subsequently provided the documentation. Oversight of sub-awards is generally delegated to grantees,” the report states.
Of fifteen sub-grants awarded ACORN by a variety of federal agencies, the report did not find any irregularities.
Not much of a surprise - Breitbart and O'Keefe are Conservatives. Conservatism is the antithesis of democracy. O'Keefe and Breitbart are adherents to the conservative cult that beleives that all lies and dirty tricks are fine if done in the name of their fascist-lite agenda.
When money rules health care: Doc linked to 68 deaths
The trial of a doctor and his wife accused of contributing to the fatal overdoses of 68 patients by overprescribing pain medication went to jurors on Tuesday.
Stephen Schneider and his wife Linda were portrayed by the prosecution in closing arguments as running a "Burger King for pain pill addicts" while the defense argued that the state's case was overblown.
The case has drawn attention in part because of a debate over the medical treatment of pain in the United States, but also the high number of deaths attributed to the defendants.
"This is a sordid tale of how money and not medicine controlled the defendants' actions," Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway told jurors in closing arguments.
"The defendants were running a pill mill, not a legitimate medical practice," she added.
